Best Syndication - Education

(Best Syndication News) - The popular children book series published by Scholastic has now been released as an app for the Apple iPad tablet. “The Adventures of Captain Underpants,” is available exclusively on the Apple App Store. This week, author Dav Pilkey also published his tenth book in the series -- Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers.

The popular Captain Underpants book series has been around for over 15 years. Since the first book, which was published in September 1997, over 50 million books in the series have been printed for distribution in North America. The Captain Underpants series feature silly illustrations, which add to the superhero’s antics that saves the day.

(Best Syndication News) - Researchers found that students who got financial help from their parents when attending college were more likely to graduate, but with lower grade point averages (GPAs). The study results will be published in the February issue of the American Sociological Review.

Laura T. Hamilton, a sociology professor at the University of California, Merced, studied what impact financial assistance from parents had on students’ grades and graduation rates. The good news is that parents who supported their child financially in college were best at avoiding serious academic trouble. However, at the same time earning good grades also diminished.

(Best Syndication News) - The San Bernardino Public Library will be hosting a Civil War re-enactment celebrating 150 years since Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The library will have free “living history” programs throughout the month of January to bring history alive.

On January 12, 2013, between 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., the Feldheym Central Library (located at 555 W. 6th Street in San Bernardino) will have American Civil War Society members dressed up as Confederate Soldiers, Union Soldiers, and Civilian Corps from the Civil War era. The American Civil War Society is one of the largest nonprofit groups to reenact this particular historical period in California. The group will also have re-enactors portraying Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, General and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, and General Robert E. Lee. This is a family friendly event and is intended to educate students about Civil War history.

(Best Syndication News) - The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is prepared to track Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. The annual tracking will be supported on mobile devices and will provide children a chance to get a sneak peek at Santa.

Children and adults can visit noradsanta.org to get a view of Santa and to participate in interactive holiday activities. Their website supports English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese; people around the world can now enjoy the website.

(Best Syndication News) – The Space Telescope Science Institute released two free eBooks which discuss the NASA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA James Webb Space Telescope. The free eBooks can be read with an Apple iPad or through the free iBooks app. There is also a downloadable PDF version available for those people who are not set up with a reader.

The new eBooks are written at a high-school reading level and give a thorough explanation of the telescope’s functions and the images that were captured along the way. Scientific minded individuals will be fascinated to learn more about the history of telescopes and of the deep-space discoveries. The photos captured by the telescopes are astounding and beautiful to look at from an artistic perspective.

(Best Syndication News) - Scientists from The City College of New York and Rice University used purpurin, a dye extracted from the rose madder root, to power an environmentally friendly battery. The goal is to develop a non-toxic and sustainable lithium-ion battery. On December 11, 2012, the researchers reported their results in Nature's online and open access publication, Scientific Reports.

The madder plant roots have been used as a natural fabric dye for over 3,500 years in Asia and in the Middle East. The plant dye was used to color fabrics a bright orange, red, and pink.

(Best Syndication News) - Eastman Kodak Company announced in September, a new collaboration with On Demand Books and ReaderLink. The partnership will have in-store On Demand Books’ Espresso Book Machine deployed at retail locations that have the KODAK Picture Kiosks. The combination of services will offer consumers a full-service digital-to-print media. With the partnership, consumers will be able to get photo books and custom/local self-published titles, educational supplements, and more at retail locations.

(Best Syndication News) - A study from the University of Chicago found that anxiety experienced doing math can cause a person to feel physical pain. The researchers found that the brain areas that register a threat of bodily harm, and in some instances physical pain, are activated when people are stressed over math problems.

Sian Beilock, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, said that the brain response of a person suffering from math anxiety is similar to someone feeling physical pain. Sian said that the pain could be similar to a burning sensation experienced on a stove.

(Best Syndication News) - Three library branches in the City of San Bernardino may be forced to close their doors. While the library locations currently remain open, the San Bernardino City Council proposed keeping the libraries open until March 17, 2013. The extension is to give library officials time to find a way to make the locations sustainable.

Library officials are seeking solutions that may help keep the Howard Rowe Branch, the Paul Villaseñor Branch, and the Dorothy Inghram Branch locations open.

(Best Syndication News) - Amazon.com, Inc., (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced the start of their Lightning Deals program and made their 2012 Holiday Toy List available for shoppers to peruse. The traditional holiday sales do not kick off until Thanksgiving and the Cyber-Monday online sales will follow soon after that. In the meantime, shoppers can prepare for what they are going to buy and maybe even start to buy their gifts.

The Amazon Lightning Deals are promotions on products that have a limited time and availability. The daily offerings will begin on October 18 and run through November 18, 2012. To get to the Lightning Deals, click on the “Today’s Deal” link at the top of the Amazon website.

(Best Syndication News) - A study from Michigan State University suggests that Twitter could be used to help promote student learning. Twitter is a social networking website that limits the posts to 140-characters or less. Twitter has become notably popular for fans to keep up with their favorite celebrity, sports team, and for businesses to offer promotions.

Christine Greenhow, assistant professor of education at Michigan State University, explains her observations in "Twitteracy: Tweeting as a New Literary Practice," which was published in the journal Educational Forum.

(Best Syndication News) - Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSLO), (NYSE: MSO) announced several online distribution channels for their instructional videos. Starting today, MSLO will be offering full episodes of their popular content on Hulu and Hulu Plus. They will also offer short video clips on The AOL On Network as well. Additionally, Fullscreen, Inc. was chosen to help develop The Martha Stewart network on YouTube.

(Best Syndication News) - According to Jason Alderman, Senior Director of Global Financial Education, Visa Inc., the average going price for a tooth is $3, which is up from $2.60 in 2011. The increase represents a 15 percent boost for losing a tooth this year. To help parents figure out how much the going rate is for the Tooth Fairy to leave, Visa has created a free app to assist in this matter.

If you are not sure how much the Tooth Fairy should leave for the lost tooth, fear-not, because Visa has created a free app for Apple iPhones and Apple iPads. The app, which can be downloaded at the iTunes Store, will calculate the going rate. If you do not have an Apple device, you can also visit www.PracticalMoneySkills.com/ToothFairy to use the calculator online from a computer.

(Best Syndication News) - The first ever song was sent from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to Mars and back again to Earth earlier today. There were 53 high school students from the i.am College Track Center, VIP guests, NASA and JPL officials, and Curiosity mission members present when the Will.i.am’s song “Reach for the Stars (Mars Edition)” was sent and received. The special event also paid tribute to the recent passing of legendary Astronaut Neil Armstrong, who made history by being the first man to walk on the Moon.

A video message from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden was played. He suggested students study science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). "Mars has always fascinated us, and the things Curiosity tells us about it will help us learn about whether or not life was possible there," Bolden said. "And what future human explorers can expect. will.i.am has provided the first song on our playlist of Mars exploration."

(Best Syndication News) - College students can now take advantage of newly launched Amazon Textbook Rental service. Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced that the rentals could offer savings up to 70 percent compared to buying the textbooks.

The rentals are available on Amazon.com. Instead of purchasing the textbook, the student can pick the “Rent Now” option. At the end of the specified rental agreement time, the student would then return the book. Shipping could be free for eligible orders over $25 with Free Super Saver Shipping. Amazon Prime membership can also expedite the shipping at no extra cost. The return shipping is also free with a prepaid printable label.

(Best Syndication News) - Researchers from the University of Montreal and Saint-Justine Mother and Child University Hospital found that children between the age of two and four that watched more hours of TV had a higher chance of having a bigger waist circumference by the end of fourth grade. Additionally, the children that watched more TV as toddlers had a reduced ability to perform sports activities when they were 10 years old. The study was published in today’s edition of BioMed Central's open access journal International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

Lead author Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick and senior author Dr. Linda Pagani reported on the findings. Dr. Pagani explained that they interviewed the parents about the TV viewing habits of the children, measured the children's waist, and had them do a standing long jump. They found that for each weekly hour of TV viewing a child had at the age of 29 months decreased the child’s long jump distance about one-third of a centimeter.

(Best Syndication News) - Teens are not money savvy and parents were not confident discussing finances with them, a new survey found. A survey conducted on behalf of Capital One and ING DIRECT USA found that around one out of four teens between 12 and 17 years of age thought incorrectly that a debit card was borrowing money from the bank.

The survey was conducted to learn more about how teens spend and save their money. In the survey, 35 percent of the teens said that the most important financial lesson they wanted to learn is how to save their money. Another 28 percent wanted to learn how to budget.

(Best Syndication News) - Kitchen appliance company, Jenn-Air, launched a Master Class Blog that will educate visitors on how to cook, entertain, and how to design the perfect kitchen. Additionally, the company has a free Apple iPhone app called DesignVision that will let consumers take a photo of their kitchen and overlay the Jenn-Air appliances to see what they would look like.

(Best Syndication News) - The Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is celebrating 150 years since they first got the approval from President Abraham Lincoln to build the transcontinental railway line. To commemorate this event, they have put together a free ebook and an interactive website that discusses the long history of the company.

The railroad line all started on July 1, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act into law. It was not until May 10, 1869 when the golden spike ceremony was held to officially connect the two railroad tracks in Promontory Summit, Utah. This first railroad line operated until 1904. That was when it was replaced with the Lucin Cutoff.

(Best Syndication News) - Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced that they have acquired the imprint Avalon Books, which includes publication rights for over 3,000 backlist titles. The majority of the titles are romance, mystery, and western genres. Avalon Books have been known to specialize in wholesome stories. Popular authors published under Avalon include Holly Jacobs, Carolyn Hughey, and Carolyn Brown.

Ellen Bouregy Mickelsen, Publisher of Avalon Books said that Amazon will have her assist in transitioning the authors to Amazon Publishing, which will be under the West Coast division and include the imprint Montlake Romance and Thomas & Mercer.